Welt presser for sole attaching machines



Aug. 20, 1940. E. J. RAY 2,211,836

WELT-PRESSER FOR SOLE ATTACHING MACHINES Filed March 27, 1939 l I I I Patented Aug. 20, 1940 WELT PRESSER FOR SOLE ATTACHING MACHINES Eugene J. Ray, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application March 27, 1939,-Seria1 No. 264,286

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for attaching soles to shoes by the application of pressure and is illustrated herein as embodied in an improved apparatus for supporting and pressing a welt or other marginally projectingportion of a shoe against the marginal portion of the sole which extends beyond the last, in opposition to the pressure applied to the outer face of the sole in the sole attaching operation.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved welt presser which can be conveniently and effectively used in connection with'the pressure pad of a cement sole attaching machine and which will readily accommodate itself to, and support, the welts of shoes of a large variety of sizes and shapes. While the illustrated welt presser was developed particularly for use in cement attaching soles to mens shoes with the aid of a cement sole attaching machine of the character disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,047,185, granted July 14, 1936, on an application filed in the name of Milton H. Ballard et al., the invention is not limited in its utility to embodiment in a machine of that type nor is it limited to use in the manufacture of mens shoes.

Features of the invention include a flexible welt support adapted to be easily and quickly applied to the welt crease of a shoe resting upon a pressure pad and to be tensioned to draw it snugly into, and hold it firmly in, the welt crease, to press upon and support the welt during the application of pressure to the sole of the shoe; a novel arrangement of tensioning means whereby the tensioning of the welt support will not only draw the support tightly into the welt crease of the shoe but will also cause the support to exert downward pressure upon the upper face of the welt; and the employment as a tensioning element of a flexible cable which passes loosely through the welt support, from end to end of the latter, and extends beyond the ends of the support to mechanism designed to pull the cable taut longitudinally of the shoe to cause the support to be drawn into the welt crease.

With the above and other objects and features in view, the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a shoe upon a pressure pad in a pad box equipped with the welt presser of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the same in side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a detail in cross section on the line III--III of Fig. 1; and I Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation showing the flexible welt pressing element and the tensioning cable in untensioned condition.

The invention is illustrated herein as applied to a pad box of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,063,041, granted December 8, 1936, on an application filed in the name of Lloyd G. Knowles. Accordingly, the main casting ll? of the pad box is shown as secured by screws 12 to a shelf or bracket 14 of a sole attaching machine. Contained within the pad box is a pressure pad 15 upon which the shoe is supported and by which pressure is applied to the sole of the shoe. The shoe is is shown as mounted upon a last 243 and the sole and welt of the shoe are designated by 22 and 2d, respectively. The sole engaging fingers 26 and the shoe positioning gages 23 at the toe end of the shoe and the heel end gages 30 at the heel end thereof are substantially as disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 2,063,041.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a flexible, elongated, welt pressing element 32 which may be made of rubber or other material equivalent for the purpose. The cross sectional shape of the presser 32 is as shown in Fig. 3 in order to enable the presser to engage snugly in the welt crease and press upon substantially the entire exposed upper face of the welt 24.

Extending from one end to the other of the flexible welt pressing element 32 is a closely coiled wire tube 34 which is. embedded in the material of the element 32 and constitutes a flexible conduit for a flexible, stranded wire tensioning cable 36, which passes loosely through the entire length of the conduit and extends rearwardly of the pad beyond the ends of the presser member 32 to two horizontal swinging arms 38, MB, to which its respective ends are secured byscrews 42, 44.

In its unstressed condition the shape of the element 32 is substantially as shown in Fig. 4, its lower, welt-engaging face 31 being approximately flat and its upper face 33 bulging upward in the region corresponding to thatin which there will be a curve in the opposite direction in the sole of the shoe when the latter is completed. The conduit 34 is normally curved vertically upward to such a degree that when it is flattened by tensioning the cable'36 the lower face 3| of the element 32 will be bulged downward, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and will be'caused to apply downward hearings in the pad box and have on their lower end portions skew gear teeth which mesh with similar gear teeth 52, 54 upon a horizontal crank shaft 56, to one end of which is affixed a ratchet wheel 58 and a crank handle 60. A pawl 62, movableupon a stationary pivot 64, is held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 58 by a. spring 66.

In operation a cemented sole 22 and welted shoe [8 are assembled upon the pad l6 and are held locked in position by the fingers and gages 26, 28, 36. At this time the cable 36 is slack, the welt presser 32 being loose upon it and having the profile shape shown in Fig. 4.

The welt presser is next fitted into the welt crease of the'shoe and the cable is drawn taut by turning the crank 60, thus drawing the presser tightly into the welt crease of the shoe where it is held firmly by the locking of the ratchet wheel 58 by the pawl 60. By the tightening of the cable 34 the presser is deformed to the shape shown in Fig. 2, applying downward pressure to the welt to force the latter into firm contact with the sole. The work is now ready to be subjected to the sole attaching pressure in the usual manner.

After the pressure is released the pawl 62 may be disengaged from the ratchet 58 and the welt presser 32 may be removed from the welt crease of the shoe,whereupon the shoe is ready for removal from the machine.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A welt presser comprising a flexible, elongated, welt engaging member, a flexible tensioning cable passing loosely through the entire length of said member and extending beyond the ends thereof, and means, connected to the ends of said cable, for drawing the cable taut, to draw the welt engaging member into the welt crease of a shoe.

2. A welt presser comprising a flexible, elongated, rubber, welt engaging member, a flexible conduit embedded in the rubber and extending from one end to the other thereof, a flexible tensioning cable passing loosely through said conduit and extending beyond the ends thereof, and mechanism, connected to the ends of said cable, for drawing the cable taut, to draw the welt engaging member into the welt crease of a shoe.

3. A welt presser comprising a flexible, elongated, rubber, welt engaging member adapted to embrace the forepart of a shoe, a flexible conduit embedded in the rubber, extending throughout the length thereof, and curved upward at the sides of the shoe when said member is unstressed, a cable passing loosely through said conduit and extending beyond the ends thereof, and means for drawing the cable taut, whereby the upward curve is flattened and the welt engaging member is bulged downward to apply downward pressure to the welt of the shoe.

4. Welt pressing apparatus comprising a flexible, elongated, welt engaging member adapted to engage in the welt crease of a shoe, a crank shaft, a pair of upright shafts geared to said crank shaft, connections between the upright shafts and the welt engaging member constructed and arranged to draw said member into the welt crease of a shoe when the shafts are rotated, and means for locking the crank shaft against reverse rotation.

EUGENE J. RAY. 

